CAPTAIN BEYOND

"CAPTAIN BEYOND" is a progressive southern rock album that out-paces anything before it's time. The opening measures of "Dancing Madly Backwards" spell out the 5/4 intro which turns to a straight forward feel with RHINO's guitar leads simple and harmonized. Bobby Caldwell's drumming is clean and crisp. "Mesmerization Ecplise throws a rhythm into 7/8. ROD EVANS is singing about desperation setting in (we all know what this album is about. don't we) and "The Raging River Of Fear" pulses the beat with 1/16 accents on the churus, then releases itself to an open-ended 6/8 groove, then back again. BOBBY CALDWELL plays flams on his snare- drum while he's in a drum roll. Amazing. The Band takes a tempo breather but is back in progressive form with "A Thousand Days Of Yesterday' It's blistering 7/4 meter just spins your head around.The reprise to the albums theme is "I Can't Feel Nothing" which is just relaxing at this point. It's simple 4/4 beat makes you say Ahh.......This albums gives you a dose of tempo changes, time signatures and modulations throughout. It's dizzying. If you can listen to all the tracks in one sitting, then you will have been fully, totally, progressively rocked.